I'd add one of the biggest issues with a lot of these game makers is they don't play games EVEN theirs as there's simple QoL features A LOT of these games don't have.
Instead they rely on 'daily log in rewards, new challenges each week/day' things that are good for new players starting out but can easily burnout those who are now experienced especially veterans.
If you want to see the games where they have some good QoL, look up the ones where a designer is treated like a rockstar despite not acting like it even being very introverted. Gamers will stay with an MMO game so long as they know ONE designer who plays and gives a shit is in a position to, even slowly, improve the game.
If I had to guess, it's also very much a big bunch of divided work at the mega-studios. They never really touch the whole project. What if your job was only the weapons? You'd probably spend all the game play time in a testing room shooting guns and swinging swords that the artist handed to you to implement. Then you spend the other half of the time you actually work sitting in boring meetings.
That is just the world of large corporations. I worked for one a long time, totally unrelated to any entertainment media. The reward for excellence and the reward for mediocrity is nearly exactly the same. Once you figure this out, it's very difficult to have any motivation to do any more than floating slightly above mediocre. So, some leave and some stay around and be mediocre.
The difference with your game is you're invested in it's success. If it's a good game and does really well you benefit greatly. If it's shit and does poorly, you benefit very little. This doesn't apply much to corporate employees, who might get a small bonus on the success of a game.
What's obnoxious too is that under modern engines, it's easier than ever for developers to dive right in and test things they're working on, which is not only great for making sure stuff works, but can be a fun and easy way to play around with new gameplay features and see how they're holding up.
I suppose it's possible that larger studios make it a pain in the ass to take advantage of such features. Maybe due to overzealous management and the soul-killing effects of working in some of these corporate environments.
I'd add one of the biggest issues with a lot of these game makers is they don't play games EVEN theirs as there's simple QoL features A LOT of these games don't have.
Instead they rely on 'daily log in rewards, new challenges each week/day' things that are good for new players starting out but can easily burnout those who are now experienced especially veterans.
If you want to see the games where they have some good QoL, look up the ones where a designer is treated like a rockstar despite not acting like it even being very introverted. Gamers will stay with an MMO game so long as they know ONE designer who plays and gives a shit is in a position to, even slowly, improve the game.
If I had to guess, it's also very much a big bunch of divided work at the mega-studios. They never really touch the whole project. What if your job was only the weapons? You'd probably spend all the game play time in a testing room shooting guns and swinging swords that the artist handed to you to implement. Then you spend the other half of the time you actually work sitting in boring meetings.
That is just the world of large corporations. I worked for one a long time, totally unrelated to any entertainment media. The reward for excellence and the reward for mediocrity is nearly exactly the same. Once you figure this out, it's very difficult to have any motivation to do any more than floating slightly above mediocre. So, some leave and some stay around and be mediocre.
The difference with your game is you're invested in it's success. If it's a good game and does really well you benefit greatly. If it's shit and does poorly, you benefit very little. This doesn't apply much to corporate employees, who might get a small bonus on the success of a game.
What's obnoxious too is that under modern engines, it's easier than ever for developers to dive right in and test things they're working on, which is not only great for making sure stuff works, but can be a fun and easy way to play around with new gameplay features and see how they're holding up.
I suppose it's possible that larger studios make it a pain in the ass to take advantage of such features. Maybe due to overzealous management and the soul-killing effects of working in some of these corporate environments.